Northwest Airlines retired captain John Hanson began dabbling in airplanes when he was just a small lad of two. His entire life
has been intertwined with all facets of aviation from flight instructing and charter flying to a 40 year career at NWA. John retired from the coveted #1 slot on the pilot sceniority
list.

On October 9, 2002 during a flight from Detroit to Tokoyo, Captain Hanson’s Boeing 747-400, with 386 passengers on board, experienced
an uncommanded rudder hardover which rendered the jumbo jet nearly uncontrollable. For two hours he and his crew fought “The Whale” through a combination of full opposite rudder and aileron and
asymmetrical thrust. The successful emergency landing at Anchorage garnered the crew of NWA flight 85 the Air Line Pilot’s Association’s Superior Airmanship Award. The Discovery Channel
Canada later did a documentary on this incident which appeared in the TV series “Air Emergency”.

John has owned 21 different airplanes over the years and has written a book titled “Aerial Toys, Adventures with Flying Machines.”

Welcome John as our guest speaker for our April meeting. Not only will he relate the events of NWA flight 85, but he’ll also
talk about his life in aviation and have copies of his book for sale.

Holman’s Table, the new restaurant at STP will be catering our gathering with coffee, juice, water, and breakfast
goodies.

Directions:

From US 52 in St. Paul, exit at Plato Blvd. Follow signs to Holman’s Table on Bayfield St. at the “old” terminal. Parking
is opposite the building. Enter the main entrance and turn right down to the conference room at the end of the hall. If you are flying in, parking is available directly in front of the
terminal building.

Questions? Call Doug at 651-398-1184 or dcw@mnwing.org

3-01-2018

The March 2018 issue of the RVator's Log is ready for download.
Click HERE

11-30-2017

11-29-2017

11-30-2017

The December issue of the RVator's Log is ready for download.
Click HERE

11-14-2017

RV-10/14 builder Tim Olson and his family took a trip this August to Oregon to view the eclipse. What makes this really cool is that they took BOTH of their airplanes with his wife Andrea
and daughter Colleen flying the RV-14 and Tim and daughter Danielle flying the RV-10. You can read all about
the trip HERE......

Before their trip, Tim (who is a CFI) gave his daughter Danielle some dual in short field operations in the -14. Check out the video.........

10-3-2017

RV-6 builder and Boeing engineer Bernardo Malfitano has made available a most intersting PDF document titled "Understanding Airplanes." It is a mini-course in aeronaitical engineering.
View it on our Safety page.......

9-13-2017

Our 2017 RV Fly-In and Picnic is in the books. Attendance was down somewhat perhaps because of a rather windy day. But regardless, it was another great time of eating and talking RV
talk. Here's a shot from Peter Fruehling of his daughter Teagan delighting in Nancy Burkholder's RV-6 roaring overhead. Click on this link
to see the Photo Gallery....

9-13-2017

Congratulations to Wilbur Olson of Glencoe, MN on the completion of his RV-12. He has about 25 hours on it now and still working out a few minor glitches but he is looking forward to lots of
new adventures in the skies of Minnesota.

8-31-2017

The September issue of the RVator's Log is ready for download. Click HERE

07-09-2017

Check out some photos from our Lunch this past Saturday at Anoka. Many thanks to Bernie Weiss, Pete Howell, and Alex Peterson for hosting us!!!!

06-11-2017

06-06-2017

Congratuatons to Danielle Olson who soloed her dad's RV-14 on her 16th birthday!! The Olson's were our guests for our winter meeting this year. Is she the youngest student pilot to
solo an RV?? Could be!!

03-15-2017

Warren Starkebaum just got his RV-7 back from Midwest Aircraft Refinishing. What do you think??? I'd say it's a beauty!!!!!

03-13-2017

12-19-2016

One Last Flight

Local RV-7A builder and club member Bob Collins has written a bitter sweet piece on selling his airplane. Bob is a professional wordsmith so this is quality work appearing on Minnesota
Public Radio's NewsCut blog. Take a moment to enjoy.....

12-18-2016

Tom Irlbeck reflects on his 57 years as a pilot, 71 1⁄2 years of flying....

Thought I’d drop you a note, as I reflect back on my years in the air. Flying has been good to me. I consider myself very fortunate, having
been born into a flying family. My Dad was a B-17, B-29 pilot. When he was home on leave in the fall of 1945, we went out to John Benson’s Airport, just north of White Bear Lake. Don’t know all of the story how my Dad and John met, but
know they were close friends, until both went west, a number of years ago. Anyway, I have a cherished photo sitting in John’s J-3 that he was renting, on my Mom’s lap, with my Dad in the front seat. That was my
first ride at 2 1⁄2. I have my hand on the stick, my Mom said I want to shake the stick, and to this day I still enjoy“shaking the stick”, must be in the genes.

Last Sunday, old“Bear”, my trustworthy RV-8 turned over 2,000 hrs. I started building her in 1997, and June of 2000 she took me into the air on her first flight. On Sunday I was giving
a“Young Eagle
Ride”, a young lady of 15yrs, her
1stride in a“little”aircraft.
She had been in the air only once before, in an airliner, and was a little apprehensive. On such rides, I take it“easy”, you might say I hold back a lot, not my normal“Navy Take Off”. I mentioned that we would be turning over to the 2,000 hr mark
to her, but I’m sure she
didn’t realize the signifigance,
but“Bear”did!!!!

11-23-2016

9-29-2016

Congratulations to Jeff Schwalen on the successfuil first flight of his RV-10 on September 28, 2016. Doug Weiler was the test pilot and the flight was out of Fleming Field with landing at
AirLake. There is nothing like the excitment of seeing those thousands of hours of work take wing for the first time!!!

9-22-2016

Our own Tom Court has finished his weather app titled "Weekend Flyer." It's a great tool to obtain up to a 3-day forecast of aviation weather to plan your "weekend flying." It has been
recently reviewed in Ipad Pilot News. You can download it on the Apple App
Store. Here's the link on the Apple App Store. Give it a free trial!

7-20-2016

7-10-2016

RV-10 builder Ed Krantz and his wife Colleen have put together a great website that blogs on all things related to their newly
minted RV-10. You'll find a great building log tracking Ed's construction of the -10 and now that he is flying, you'll also find some great narratives (and videos) of their flying adventures.
Here's why we spend hours and hours (and years and years) building these great aircraft. Enjoy.......

6-13-2016

Our June BBQ is now history. Thanks to Bernie Weiss and Pete Howell for hosting us!!

5-31-2016

3-20-2016

Thanks to all that attended our meeting on March 12. We had a great turnout (of course the weather was spectacular!) We
lost count as to how many RVs (and others) flew in but the north end taxiways at Lake Elmo were filled up! Thanks to Tim Olson and his daughter Danielle for a great presentation on their RV
travels and also to Pete Howell for translating the options for ADS-B.

12-14-2015

Our December meeting was well attended and it was great to see old friends again and some new RV
enthusiasts as well! Tech counselor Tom Berge was center stage with an informative talk on electrical system design. New treasurer Peter Fruehling was introduced and gave us a briefing on
our new PayPal dues payment system.

Here’s a link to Tom’s PowerPoint slides which will give you a brief outline of the topics he
covered.